Doing the Rights Things

06 Sep Doing the Rights Things

UFI is all about preserving a future for the family! We work hard to be a voice for people around the world from every religion, culture, and political background who are fighting, as we are, to strengthen the family as the basic unit of society.

As your watchdog for the family, we have kept a careful watch on the two national political conventions being held in the United States. These conventions seek to nominate a person to serve in certainly one of the most influential position in the world–The President of the United States. Along with nominating an individual, each party has identified a platform that proclaims their goals and objectives for the next four years. We have studied these platforms in respect to our five founding principles: the family, marriage, life, parental rights, and sovereignty. We wish to make a few observations.

The Republican Party warns against the UN system in general stating that it is in “dire need of repair” and has denounced the ratification of four of the human right treaties because the “long-range impact on the American family is ominous or unclear.” The platform restates its commitment to battle against abortion and the public funding of abortion. It recognizes the distinct merits of man/woman marriage and vows to uphold laws to protect and sustain such marriage, including the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Additionally, the platform references the important role of religion and includes 12 different references to God.

The Democratic Party platform, on the other hand, applauds the UN and the “American leadership at the UN.” It strongly supports the ratification of CEDAW, as a human right treating capable of securing women’s rights. It continues to appeal to and supports pro-abortion advocates and denounces any and all efforts to weaken or undermine abortion “rights” while insisting that taxpayers should be required to pay for abortion. This platform also encourages the legalization of same-sex “marriage” and acknowledges that they will continue to have the State Department finance gay rights organizations. Finally, during the convention an attempt to insert the word “God” back into the Democratic Party platform was met with resounding objections and boos from the floor.

With these comparisons in mind, Tom Christensen offers an opinion on the entire process up to and including the election itself. It is our hope that the presentation of these thoughts and ideas will create in you a personal interest in evaluating the election processes in your community and country.

It is critically important that the social issues – those issues that strengthen the family – be placed in top priority in selecting the leaders and laws that govern our lands. For in the end, it is the breakdown of the family that dramatically adds to the fiscal burden of countries. If countries are to remain vibrant and fiscally sound, they must abide by the time-tested values of religious faith, individual responsibility, and strong intact families.

Sincerely,

Carol Soelberg
President, United Families International

Doing the Right Things

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.–Peter F. Drucker

Tom Christensen

Citizens of the United States will soon elect a president, arguably the most powerful person on earth. Many consider this to be the most important presidential election of our time. The person elected will face a nation (and many allies) in serious decline stemming, in my opinion, from the erosion of public trust, sacred values, and its primary institution: the family.

What values and institutions are essential to a free, self-governing, and prosperous society? America was built upon the foundation of private virtue and self-restraint, respect for the rights and property of others, economic and religious freedom, thrift and industry. James Madison, author of the Constitution, wrote in the Federalist, No. 37, “the whole future of American civilization is staked not on government but on the capacity of individuals to govern themselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” Elsewhere Madison described the family as America’s most essential institution.

America is suffering because it is in self-denial. Too many Americans and its leaders are addicted to out of control government borrowing and spending. Far too many American children are learning discipline and values from peers on the street, secular public schools, or the worldwide web. Every year, over a million future parents, workers, taxpayers or leaders are aborted in the US–thrown away like trash.

America can be made whole only if the nature of its disease is correctly diagnosed, its natural antibodies and institutions are reinforced, and correct surgical procedures are performed to save the patient (rather than government programs and entitlements). The easy government solution of spending and over-regulating–treating only cosmetic symptoms and pain rather than the source of the symptoms or pain–may yield temporary relief and but does not prolong life.

With the patience and informed consent of the governed and steady leadership, a body politic may be treated, slowly recover, and one day operate at full capacity again. Although the treatment may take time and hurt abominably, a dying republic may be saved. But it will take a team of determined public officials to correctly diagnose, treat, and perform the surgery.

Will a president be able to lead America back to its former greatness or is America destined to mediocrity, moral decay, population decline, and economic default like so many other former empires?

Is it too late?

Personally, I do not believe it is. In the past, moral leaders have emerged to rally the nation against internal and external threats to freedom, equal opportunity, and national security. Take for example, George Washington during the revolutionary war and constitutional convention, Abraham Lincoln during the civil war, Reverend Martin Luther King during the segregation years, and Ronald Reagan during the “stagflation” and cold war years. To turn the nation around, it will again require strong, effective leadership, the right agenda, and a receptive citizenry.

This November, Americans face a clear choice between two smart, experienced candidates representing views that are polar opposites. Both are effective leaders, scholars, and professionals. Both are passionate and articulate. Both have excellent families. The difference is their respective agendas.

America needs more than an effective chief executive; it needs a president with the right agenda. It needs a person who will speak up for basic virtues and the family, who knows how to put the country back on track, and who knows the switches to restart the economic engine. It needs a president, like a wise father, willing to set high standards and expectations, speak the truth, and who is not afraid to say “no!”

Tom Christensen, former CEO of United Families, is a successful father, attorney, and politician. He has written extensively on the natural family and has addressed UN delegations in behalf of UFI in Istanbul, New York, Nairobi, the Hague, Lisbon and Geneva.